Know It All Nev

On Demand Reviews – 2021

Category: Laptops

Finest low cost Chromebook offers for August 2021

Nifty Nev
Chromebooks, Computing, Deals, Evergreen Deals, Laptops |

Chromebooks are young compared to Windows laptops and Macbooks, having quietly come onto the scene barely more than a decade ago. But it was only recently (and last year especially) that these machines really started to make a noticeable splash — almost entirely owing to their affordability and cloud-based Chrome operating system that’s purpose-built for online work and study. You’ve got a lot of options to choose from today, too. To help make that choice a little easier, we’ve rounded up all the best cheap Chromebook deals of the week with bargains to suit every need and budget, followed by a list of a few of our favorite models:
Today’s best Chromebook deals

HP 14 Chromebook (Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC)
— $159, was $195

Lenovo Chromebook S330 (Mediatek CPU, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD)
— $159, was $239

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 13-Inch 2-in-1 (Core i3 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)
— $350, was $700

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 2-in-1 (13 inches, Core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, 64GB)
— $377, was $430

Acer Chromebook 2021 (Intel Celeron, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC)
— $379, was $499

Google Pixelbook Go (Intel Core m3, 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD)
— $623, was $649

Samsung Galaxy 13.3-inch 4K 2-in-1 Chromebook
— $745, was $1,000

Lenovo Chromebook S330

Lenovo is putting out some of the best Chromebooks on the market today, but its high-end offerings naturally don’t come cheap. For a super-affordable alternative to laptops like the Yoga, consider Lenovo’s Chromebook S330. This 14-inch computer runs on a quad-core CPU and 4GB of RAM – snappy enough for work tasks like web browsing and word processing. It also comes with 32GB of flash storage for files and apps. Since Chrome OS is largely cloud-based, you don’t need too much space to handle your basic needs.
It may not replace your full-featured Windows, Mac, or Chrome OS laptops, but for such little money, it’s hard to find this much laptop.
Acer Chromebook 15
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Compact laptops are handy for travel, but for hours of regular use and work, a full-sized computer like Acer’s excellent Chromebook 15 might be a better option. This Chrome OS laptop features a quad-core Intel Pentium N4200 CPU, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, and 32GB of storage for handling basic tasks. But the highlight of this model is its 15.6-inch HD touch display, which gives you a lot more screen real estate to work with.
It’s still fairly sleek and lightweight, though, and its internal battery provides up to 12 hours of juice, giving you more than enough for a day’s worth of work and entertainment.
Samsung Chromebook 4+

The Samsung Chromebook 4+ is another 15-inch Chromebook, but it’s one of our favorites. It sports a sleek look, featuring a silver chassis and thin bezels, despite being just 3.75 pounds. Like many Chromebooks, it comes with just 4GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron processor, but if your computing tasks are relatively simple, you’ll find plenty of performance here under the hood. The Samsung Chromebook 4+ also comes with two USB-C ports, a full-size keyboard, and up to 10.5 hours of battery life.
Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook

If you’re looking for a solid 2-in-1 Chromebook, look no further than the Lenovo Flex 5. For an affordable price, the Flex 5 Chromebook includes great with its 10th-gen Core i3 processor, a crisp 1080p touchscreen, and excellent battery life. And, unlike some of the cheaper Chromebooks, the Flex 5 features fantastic build quality and refreshingly simple design. The sleek design, 13-inch size, and 2-in-1 versatility rival laptops that cost twice as much. It even utilizes a proper SSD, which is pretty rare to see on a Chromebook.
Deals are scarce right now for this solid mid-range 2-in-1 Chromebook, so if you see one on our list, jump on it before it’s gone.
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet

The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet currently ranks as the best 2-in-1 Chromebook you can buy (by our measuring, anyway). The cheaper model, which runs for around $250 when on sale, comes with a MediaTek processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. That might not sound like a lot, but for a 10-inch Chromebook, it’s plenty of muscle to get you by.
Like the Surface Book 2, the IdeaPad Duet is actually 10.1-inch tablet that can completely separate from the keyboard case. It functions as well as a tablet as it does a clamshell notebook. This design makes it a great option for college students or workers on the go. It’s a little bit more on the small side for a laptop, but with such a great design, you definitely get your money’s worth.
Google Pixelbook Go
Riley Young / Digital Trends
Given that Google pioneered the Chrome operating system, it’s only fitting that the company’s own Chromebooks are among the best that money can buy, so we’ve saved this one for last. The Google Pixelbook Go has the look and feel of a high-end Chrome OS laptop with a super-slim and attractive design, great build quality, a beautiful high-resolution display, and fast performance under daily workloads. In a word: It’s the Chromebook laptop that most people should buy.
It lacks some amenities like a 2-in-1 design with a fold-flat touchscreen, but if you’re willing to forego those amenities for a solid, no-frills Chromebook, then the Pixelbook Go is arguably a better choice than most Chromebooks thanks to its PC-level hardware which includes newer Intel Core CPUs and full 8GB-16GB of RAM. All of these features would normally run you around $650 for the entry-level model, but you’ll find it at discount from time to time that makes the Pixelbook Go an even better value.
Looking for more great stuff? Find laptop deals, MacBook deals, and iPad deals on our curated deals page.
We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

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Lenovo and AT&T be part of forces on new 5G laptops, beginning at simply $420

Nifty Nev
5G, Chromebooks, Computing, Laptops, Lenovo, News |

Lenovo is pairing up with AT&T to release a pair of new connected laptops that leveragethe latest in wireless connectivity. The upcoming ThinkPad X13 5G and Lenovo 300e Chromebook feature AT&T’s LTE and 5G technology, respectively. The laptops also allow cross-platform integration so you can share files or send messages across all devices via Chrome OS on the 300e Chromebook or Windows 10 Pro on the ThinkPad X13.
The Lenovo 300e Chromebook LTE will feature 4G LTE on AT&T and sounds like a nice option for students’ computing needs. Available at just $11 a month on an installment plan, it is a student-friendly budget option.
The “budget” feel applies to some of the specs as well, including the screen, which is just an 11.6-inch HD touch display. The display does have Corning Gorilla Glass coating and promises durability. The Chromebook’s keyboard is spill-resistant also, which parents and teachers will appreciate.

The 300e features a convertible design so you can use it in both tablet and laptop mode. Its body is apparently lightweight and it should be easy to carry around. Lenovo’s upcoming Chromebook features a 47 wattt-hour battery, and the company promises that a charge will last long enough for you to go from home to school and back without worrying. It has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, so you can expect some limitations in terms of usage.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 features AT&T 5G technology and is advertised as a high-powered, 11th-gen Intel processor laptop packed into a lightweight chassis. It features a 57.4Wh battery, along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD that is apparently expansive enough to fit your documents, movies, music, and more. The X13 boasts a 13.3-inch display and weighs 2.96 pounds.

According to Jenifer Robertson, executive vice president of AT&T Mobility, “cellular connectivity [is] predicted to come in 25% of all laptops in the next three years.” Keeping this in mind, Lenovo’s upcoming laptops are aiming to deliver advanced options ahead of time.
Pre-orders for the ThinkPad X13 5G will begin on August 27, and it will be available to purchase online starting September 17. Pre-orders for the 300e Chromebook LTE will begin September 10 and it will be available for purchase online and in selected stores starting September 28. The 300e has a starting price of $420 and is available in gray, while you can get the X13 for $1,500 in black.

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The best OLED laptops for 2021

Nifty Nev
best gaming laptops, Buying Guides, Computing, Gaming, laptop buying, Laptops, OLED, Tier 4 |

Organic LED (OLED) screens deliver outstanding image quality, brightness, and contrast by using organic compounds to emit visible light. These displays are light and thin and allow for extremely wide and accurate colors, incredible brightness, and the contrast ratios available. OLED technology has been around for a few years and has rapidly taken over the TV market.
You can find these screens on laptops, too, making for an interesting choice if you want stunning visuals on the go. Here, we selected some of the best OLED laptops with outstanding displays now on the market. The Dell XPS 15 tops the list because of its display of bright, bold colors, but it’s not the only great option. If display quality is indeed important, one of these laptops should be ideal.
Since OLED laptops can be a little pricey, you may also want to look for discount periods like Amazon Prime Day when you can find significant deals.
The best OLED laptops at a glance

Dell XPS 15 (2020)

Why you should pick this: The XPS 15 is already an awesome laptop, but the OLED display takes it to a whole new level.
Who’s it for: Video editors, photographers, and content creators.

Why we picked the Dell XPS 15:
The Dell XPS 15 has been our favorite 15-inch laptop for quite some time, and it might be our top favorite laptop if it wasn’t eclipsed by its slightly more portable and attractive cousin, the XPS 13. The latest version of this laptop upgrades everything, 16:10 screen included. You have options now for up to an Intel eight-core, 11th-generation Core-i9, up to 32GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe NVMe solid-state storage. There’s also an optional Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics chip for impressive midrange gaming capabilities.
But the screen is why we’re here. The 4K OLED panel is simply stunning. Made by Samsung, it’s a gorgeous display with fantastic contrast and bright, popping colors. Most importantly, the Dell XPS 15 features excellent color accuracy, which some of the other options on this list lack. That makes it a great option for photographers and video editors.
The 4K OLED screen is no more expensive than the LED 4K option offered by Dell, though it does lose the touch functionality. However, the battery life on the Dell XPS 15 may be worse with the OLED option.
ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Why you should pick this: It’s a gorgeous machine for work and play, with the typical ThinkPad build quality and understated aesthetics.
Who’s it for: Workers who like to play during the off-hours.

Why we picked the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3:
Laptops based on Lenovo’s iconic ThinkPad brand typically lack the features and look of your average gaming system, but they give just about every laptop a run for their money on the hardware front. The latest ThinkPad X1 Extreme is no different, with monstrous component options like a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU (easily upgradeable to i9 chips), a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics chip, options from 8GB to 64GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.
The OLED panel has 4K resolution, along with fantastic brightness and contrast. Lenovo also did a great job of implementing Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) for awesome Netflix bingeing.
Overall, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 doesn’t look much different from its predecessors in appearance. It’s understated, functional, and sturdy. It’s likely the most durable OLED laptop on the market, but we’d still caution against long usage at full brightness to avoid any potential burn-in problems.
HP Spectre x360 14

Why you should pick this: It offers everything you want in an OLED laptop but with a fully functioning tablet mode, too.
Who’s it for: Those who want OLED brilliance in a laptop and tablet — in one device.

Why we picked the HP Spectre x360 14:
If you want a more compact laptop without sacrificing the best screen quality possible, the HP Spectre x360 14 is the laptop for you. It equips an 11th-gen Intel Core processor starting with the four-core i5-1135G7, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of SSD storage. It can be configured with up to a Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.
The 13.5-inch OLED screen is in the taller productivity-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio, offering a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution and the typical OLED infinite contrast. The excellent keyboard is backlit, and (as HP does often) there’s an included fingerprint reader and infrared camera for easy biometric security.
This 2-in-1 ships with its own stylus for sketching, though the touchscreen is easy to use however you prefer. The HP Spectre x360 14 ports include two updated Thunderbolt 4/USB-C with USB 4 connections, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-A, and more. It’s also Wi-Fi 6 ready! Just make sure you get the AMOLED version of the laptop when you purchase.
Razer Blade 15 (2021)

Why you should pick this: Not only is it a stunning laptop, but the highly-fluid graphics are even more breathtaking.
Who’s it for: Gamers to its core.

Why we picked the Razer Blade 15 (2021): The Razer Blade 15 has a long-standing spot at the top of our list, and with continued advancements, we still consider it our favorite gaming notebook to date. A continuously smaller framework exemplifies these improvements.
This Razer Blade 15’s 2021 model features — in addition to the spacious UHD OLED display — a powerful eight-core Intel 10th-gen i7-10875H processor, a GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, and 32GB of RAM, enough to tackle more demanding games. And, of course, that OLED screen will be excellent for color, contrast, and clarity no matter what game you’re playing; it’s also great for movies and video editing.
The Razer Blade 15 (2021) also includes Razer’s RGB lighting and Chroma software for managing it. The laptop is Wi-Fi 6 ready and includes 1TB of local SSD storage. Ports include Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, HDMI, and USB-A 3.0.
Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED

Why you should pick this: This sturdy computer combines virtues from several laptop genres.

Who’s it for: Busy professionals who need a bit of both worlds for laptop performance.
Why we picked the Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED:
For this laptop, Gigabyte treads carefully between a highly portable design and a powerhouse for visual professionals. The result is something in between, a versatile 15-inch laptop with a durable design under five pounds and Samsung’s UHD AMOLED display (with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3) for top-notch quality when working on projects — or playing games during the off hours.
Inside, you’ll find a 9th-gen Intel Core i7-9750H processor, not quite the newest chip available but enough to get the job done, along with a dedicated GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU, which is helpful when it comes to video editing and playback. There’s also 16GB of RAM for better multitasking, and a 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD for storage.
The Aero 15 OLED also includes HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports for a variety of connections or video output if necessary, along with an SD card reader. Wi-Fi 6 is also supported, helping buyers get the most out of their wireless internet connection. And if multitasking gets intense, the dual cooling systems will help keep things cool.
Asus ZenBook Flip S OLED

Why you should pick this: This 2-in-1 comes with impressive power and storage for its size.

Who’s it for: Professionals who work a lot on their feet and need a laptop that can keep up.
Why we picked the Asus ZenBook Flip S OLED:
The ZenBook Flip S manages to combine 2-in-1 portability and tablet functions with a truly excellent touchscreen display, both 4K and OLED for maximum visual or color detail when you need it the most. That makes this laptop a quick recommendation for artists, designers, and others who do a lot of their jobs on their feet or like to make quick sketches and edits in tablet mode as they work.
Internal specs also impress with this updated model, which includes a potent 11th-gen quad-core Intel i7-1165G7 processor and 16GB of RAM. The spacious 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD is useful for internal storage, while the battery handles all this and is still rated for up to 15 hours, enough for a good work day.
We also were pleased to see the flexible ZenBook Flip S comes with all the latest port options, including Thunderbolt 4/UBS-C, USB-A 3.2, and HDMI 2. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are also supported. Oh, and you don’t need to worry about a stylus — the laptop comes with the Asus Pen and Windows Ink to help you get started.
Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX582
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Why you should pick this: The secondary display on this laptop is great for multitasking, and the OLED display is used to great effect.

Who’s it for: Artists, designers, and mulitaskers.
Why we picked the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX582:
It’s hard to miss the large second screen on the base of the 15-inch Pro Duo, called “ScreenPad Plus.” Yes, it does take away some space for the compact keyboard, but it adds a second screen that you can drag apps into, essentially turning into a second display that you can use to multitask, refer back to information, or compare things like color and contrast. It’s not quite Apple’s iPad Sidecar technology, but it’s still very designer-friendly and opens up plenty of new possibilities for this ZenBook.
In addition to the top-shelf UHD OLED display, the laptop offers a 10th-gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor that pairs well with the discrete GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. It also includes 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD for your storage needs. The laptop is bundled with a detachable palm rest for longer sessions and an Asus stylus for the touchscreen, so you’re ready to get to work right out of the box!
While the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX582 may fill a niche need, it does it very well with a portable model that allows for more complex work that you couldn’t have otherwise tackled on a laptop — and a display that’s as good for design as it is for entertainment.

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Finest low-cost Finest Purchase laptop computer offers for August 2021

Nifty Nev
Best Buy, Commerce 2020, Computing, Deals, Evergreen Deals, Laptops |

Best Buy is one of the biggest of the big-box stores, offering pretty much everything that a techie could want. TVs, computers, video games — if it’s electronics you’re after, then Best Buy has them, and its online presence has grown dramatically in recent years thanks to increased competition with online retailers like Amazon. Finding the right cheap laptop in such a huge catalog can be like finding a needle in a haystack, though, so if you want to skip the headache and get right to it, we’ve already narrowed down the six top Best Buy laptop deals up for grabs this month.
Not seeing anything here you like? Don’t quit just yet. We’ve also rounded up plenty of great laptop deals, MacBook deals, Chromebook deals, and gaming laptop deals from other retailers as well.
Today’s Best Buy laptop deals

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop — $400
Acer Chromebook Spin 713 2K 2-in-1 Laptop — $529, was $629
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 with Type Cover Keyboard — $599, was $959
Acer Nitro 5 GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming Laptop — $750
Asus TUF 17 GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Gaming Laptop — $900, was $1,000
Apple MacBook Air (2020, M1 CPU) — $900 ($800 for students), was $1,000

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop — $400

Although cheap laptops are increasingly common in today’s computer market, many of these affordable PCs sport pared-down mobile hardware that isn’t really suited for anything other than basic use. Enter the Lenovo IdeaPad 3: It combines a Ryzen 3 CPU with a full 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD — solid specs for work, video editing, and entertainment — with great all-day battery life, a 15-inch 1080p panel (no 720p corner-cutting here), and the sleek classic-yet-modern design that we’ve come to expect from this brand’s latest offerings.
If you like the idea of a cheap laptop but want something with more reasonable hardware capabilities than many other more basic PCs out there, this Best Buy laptop deal lets you score this workhorse machine for just $400.

Acer Chromebook Spin 713 2K 2-in-1 Laptop — $529, was $629
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Chrome OS and 2-in-1 laptops are a hot thing nowadays, and there are some very good Chromebooks to choose from that are packing the latest hardware. One case in point is the excellent Acer Spin 713, which offers excellent power for a 2-in-1 Chromebook (many of which run on rather Spartan mobile hardware). This one comes loaded with a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 CPU, a full 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage — in other words, pretty much perfect specs for work and general use.
That the 13.5-inch 1080p 2K display (with a 3:2 aspect ratio!) is also a fold-flat touchscreen is icing on the cake. A $100 discount knocks this Best Buy laptop deal down to a very attractive $529.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 with Type Cover Keyboard — $599, was $959
Best Buy/Microsoft
Microsoft’s Surface line offers some great tablets with laptop-like capabilities when paired with a Type Cover. One of our enduring complaints is that they don’t come standard with the keyboard, but this high-value Surface Pro 7 bundle solves that little gripe of ours. The tablet itself sports a Core i3 processor, 4GB of memory, and a 128GB solid-state drive, which are basic but sufficient specs for work, streaming, and general everyday use. But what really sells this device is its gorgeous 12.3-inch PixelSense touch display with a productivity-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio, which will leave you wondering why 16:9 ever became the standard.
These Best Buy laptop deals let you score the Surface Pro 7 with Type Cover Keyboard for $599 after a $360 discount, putting it comfortably below the $1,000 threshold.

Acer Nitro 5 GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming Laptop — $750

The price gap between gaming desktops and gaming laptops has narrowed quite a bit in recent years, with brands like Acer, MSI, HP, Dell, and Asus offering some very solid portable PCs packing dedicated graphics cards. The 15-inch Acer Nitro 5 laptop is one such high-value gaming machine: Its 11th-gen Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and GeForce GTX 1650 GPU deliver plenty of combined power for running today’s games at good settings, while its 256GB SSD gives you sufficient high-speed storage for your games and other programs.
This gaming PC also features a nice-looking (read: not gaudy) chassis along with its 15.6-inch 1080p display, offering more screen real estate for enjoying your entertainment than 13- and 14-inch laptops while still fitting neatly into your backpack or shoulder bag. This Best Buy laptop deal rings in at just $750 — a solid value for a GTX-powered gaming PC that you can take on the go.

Asus TUF 17 GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Gaming Laptop — $900, was $1,000

Asus built its entire reputation on its cheap work-focused PCs, but this brand has some very impressive gaming laptop offerings under its umbrella. The Asus TUF 17 gaming laptop sports excellent specs for a computer at this price point: It’s got a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a beefy 512GB SSD, and an RTX 3050 Ti graphics card which is one of the best of Nvidia’s newer mobile GPUs. Those specs deliver more than enough muscle for daily work, general use, and running the latest games at high settings.
As a proper modern laptop, it has a suitably understated design (no garish angles or rainbow LEDs here), yet its 17-inch 1080p display is a great size for productivity and entertainment with a smooth 144Hz refresh rate. A nice $100 discount means you can scoop up this Best Buy laptop deal for just $900 now, pushing it right below our budget mark. That’s also the lowest price we’ve seen so far for a gaming laptop with an RTX 30-series GPU.

Apple MacBook Air (2020, M1 CPU) — $900 ($800 for students), was $1,000
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
MacBooks don’t typically come cheap, but if you’re looking for one of the most affordable ways to get into the MacOS ecosystem (without buying a years-old model that might feel a little long in the tooth today), the late 2020 MacBook Air is a great pick. This one packs the superb new M1 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD along with a 13.3-inch screen — one of Apple’s superb Retina displays which still set the standard for what a laptop screen should be.
As the thinnest and lightest MacBook, this would also be a great alternative to the Surface Laptop if you want a super-slim ultrabook but prefer MacOS to Windows. You can grab this Best Buy laptop deal for $900 (new or current students with an .edu email address can also take another $100 off), hitting our budget limit right on the mark and making this the cheapest entry point into the MacBook family if you want to give the M1 chip a whirl.

Are all Best Buy laptop deals worth it?
As with any retailer, not every discount you find at Best Buy is necessarily worth it. When shopping the many Best Buy laptop deals that are available at any given time, you’ll want to do your due diligence and cross-reference with other websites to make sure the advertised sale price is actually a good bargain.
Once you’ve got a budget in mind, don’t just jump on the first discounted model you find that hits your price target and meets your hardware needs — there might be a better option lurking among the other Best Buy laptop deals that you missed. That said, there are plenty of gems if you know what to look for, and you can rest assured that any of our picks are going to be worth it. We’ll also feature any of our favorite laptops when they’re on sale so you know you’re getting one of the best PCs along with a solid deal.
We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

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Microsoft Floor Professional vs. Microsoft Floor Laptop computer

Nifty Nev
Computing, Laptops, Microsoft, surface, Surface Laptop, surface pro |

Since releasing the original Surface tablet in 2012, Microsoft has grown its PC business into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. The Surface line now includes the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Go 2 tablets, the Surface Book 3 detachable 2-in-1, the traditional clamshells Surface Laptop 4 and Surface Laptop Go, and the high-end all-in-one desktop Surface Studio 2. That’s quite the lineup, and you’ll find a Surface on a number of our best-of lists such as best tablets and best laptops.
The two most mainstream lines, though, are the Surface Pro and the Surface Laptop. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll want to keep them in mind if you’re looking for a Surface and choosing between the two.
Design

In the simplest terms, the Surface Pro 7 is a tablet, and the Surface Laptop 4 is a traditional clamshell. That makes the former a very thin and light slate that can morph into something akin to a clamshell when you snap on the detachable keyboard. How thin and light? Try 0.33 inches and 1.74 pounds for just the tablet. The Surface Laptop 4, on the other hand, is a traditional clamshell design that’s wider, deeper, thicker at 0.57 inches in its 13.5-inch version and 0.58 inches in its 15-inch version, and 2.84 pounds and 3.4 pounds, respectively.
The Surface Pro 7 can do real work, just like the Surface Laptop 4. It’s not as comfortable in laptop mode, especially on your lap, where the combination of tablet and detachable keyboard can be a little wobbly, but the keyboard itself is comfortable enough for fast typing without fatigue. The Surface Laptop 4 is excellent in traditional laptop form, obviously, and it has an excellent keyboard with deep travel and a precise, clicky mechanism.
The difference is that while the Surface Laptop 4’s display is touch- and pen-enabled, the Surface Pro 7 is made for touch and pen use. Inking on the tablet is smooth and accurate, letting you handwrite your notes and create professional sketches with ease. Pop off the keyboard, and you have a device that can be used more comfortably in more places than the larger Surface Laptop 4.
The Surface Pro 7 is constructed of magnesium alloy and can be purchased in the traditional Surface Platinum or a Matte Black color scheme. The optional Surface Type Cover keyboard can be covered in either standard or Alcantara fabric. The Surface Laptop 4 is made of aluminum alloy, with color and keyboard deck material options that vary by size. The 13.5-inch model can be configured in Platinum or Ice Blue with Alcantara fabric and Matte Black or Sandstone with a metal palm rest. The 15-inch model is available in Platinum or Matte Black, and Alcantara fabric is not an option. Both machines offer top-notch build quality with no bending or flexing in the chassis or display.
In terms of connectivity, the two machines are surprisingly similar. The Surface Pro 7 has a USB-A port, a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the Surface Connect port to attach to the charger and Microsoft’s docking options. The Surface Laptop 4 has the same ports, exactly. The one difference is that the Surface Pro 7 also has a microSD card reader, where the Surface Laptop 4 does not. Both machines offer Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 wireless connectivity.
Performance

The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 offers a choice between 11th-generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 and i7-1185G7 processors and a special Microsoft Surface edition of the AMD Ryzen 5 4680U CPU. The 15-inch model offers just the Core i7-1185G7 or a faster Ryzen 7 4980U Microsoft Surface Edition. That gives the laptop a faster option than the Surface Pro 7, which is limited to 10th-gen Intel low-power Core i3-1005G1, Core i5-1035G4, and Core i7-1065G7 CPUs. In terms of processor performance, the Surface Laptop is the faster option by a wide margin.
Graphics performance is more similar. The Surface Pro 7 is limited to Intel UDH or Iris Plus graphics, while the Surface Laptop 4 offers Intel Iris Xe or AMD Radeon onboard graphics. That means both machines are limited to integrated graphics with no options for a discrete GPU for gaming or speeding up creative applications. The Surface Laptop 4 will be faster than the Surface Pro 7, but not by the same margin as with the CPU.
You’ll find the Surface Pro 7 to be best for lighter productivity tasks like working with Office documents, browsing the web, and handling email. The Surface Laptop 4, particularly the AMD version, can handle more strenuous productivity as well as tackling low-end creative work. Neither is going to be a video editor’s dream laptop, but neither is meant for that kind of work.
Display

The Surface Pro 7 is built around a 12.3-inch IPS display in the 3:2 aspect ratio and with a high 2,736 x 1,824 (267 PPI) resolution. The Surface Laptop 4 offers a choice of 3:2 IPS displays, a 13.5-inch inch version at 2,256 x 1,504 (201 PPI) and a 15-inch version at 2,496 x 1,664 (201 PPI) resolutions.
We tested the Surface Laptop 4 15-inch display and the Surface Pro 7 display, and both offer similar quality. Both are bright at around 377 nits, exceeding our preferred 300-nit threshold, and offer good contrast ratios at 970:1 and 1140:1, respectively. We prefer to see contrast at over 1,000:1, and so the Surface Pro 7 wins out here.
In terms of color support, the Surface Laptop 4 provides 73% of AdobeRGB and 96 of sRGB, while the Surface Pro 7 covers just 70% of AdobeRGB and 93% of sRGB. The Surface Pro 7’s color accuracy was poor at a DeltaE of 3.51 (1.0 or less is considered excellent), compared to the Surface Laptop 4 at a much better 1.44.
Neither of these machines offers displays that will please creative professionals who crave the widest and most accurate colors, but the Surface Laptop is closer. The difference, in contrast, weighs in the Surface Pro 7’s favor, meaning it will have blacker text on white backgrounds, for example. Overall, both are good displays for the premium laptop segment, although not the best you’ll find.
Portability
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
We’ve already established that the Surface Pro 7 is the thinner and lighter device, even with its detachable keyboard. But the Surface Laptop 4 is very thin and light for its class, especially the 15-inch model. Neither will weigh you down or take up too much space in your backpack.
We didn’t run the Surface Laptop 4 AMD version through our full suite of battery tests, but the 15-inch model achieved a very strong 13.5 hours in our web browsing test. We consider anything longer than 10 hours to be an achievement in this benchmark. That compares to the Surface Pro 7 at just 8.35 hours, clearly considerably less. The Surface Laptop 13.5-inch AMD version is expected to get slightly better battery life, while the Intel versions are expected to get slightly less.
The Surface Pro 7 just isn’t big enough to pack in as much battery life, and it has a higher-resolution display than the Surface Laptop 4, albeit considerably smaller. The Surface Laptop 4, therefore, will likely last you a full working day and then some, where you might be pulling out your Surface Pro 7 charger to finish the day.
Laptop or tablet? That’s what the decision comes down to
The Surface Pro 7 starts at $750 for a Core i3, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive, up to $2,300 for a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It’s clearly a premium tablet with a low entry-level price to go with its entry-level configuration.
The Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch starts at $1,000 for an AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD and tops out at $2,300 for a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The 15-inch model starts at $1,300 for an AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, and you can spend as much as $2,400 for a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Again, the Surface Laptop 4 is very much a premium device with higher low- and top-end pricing.
Which is the right device for you comes down to whether you want a tablet or a traditional laptop. Either way, you’ll get excellent build quality, a great display, and support for Windows 10’s full suite of touch and ink. If you want a faster machine with better battery life, the Surface Laptop 4 is the way to go, but the Surface Pro 7 will support your writing and drawing needs in a way that the laptop cannot.

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Evaluate with blocks put up format

Nifty Nev
Cameras, House, Laptops |

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Heading again to high school? Change these laptop computer settings first

Nifty Nev
Back to School, Computing, Laptops, Microsoft OneDrive, Windows 10 |

Going back to school often requires you to upgrade your gadget, which can turn out to be a major expense. Thankfully, there’s a much easier way of making sure your devices are up to date without replacing them.
Your computer already hosts a number of tools that can be utilized to turn its performance up a notch. This guide compiles a number of quick and easy ways to make sure your Windows 10 machine is tuned to perform at peak efficiency before your semester starts.
Disable apps that auto-run at startup
A number of apps are often set up to run automatically as soon as you turn your PC on. Not only this, they also turn on additional programs in the background that run every time you switch your machine on.
This could be useful for you if these are the primary apps you work on. However, the process significantly affects your battery life. It also has an impact on your device’s overall performance and boot times.

If you wish to limit such apps, you have to configure their settings and disable them. This will decrease the number of resources your device is handling and enhance startup performance.
To do so, go to Settings > Apps > Startup and from the list that shows up, turn the toggle switch off for apps that you don’t need as soon you log in to your device. You might want to leave apps such as OneDrive and Windows Security Notification switched on.
Only go for third-party apps that may be impacting performance during startup. Once you’re done with these steps, you should experience at least a little extended battery life and improved performance.
Optimize your drives

Hard drives have moving parts that need optimization every once in a while. You’re supposed to make use of the defragmentation tool to manage the bits in your drives so that they perform better.
In order to defragment your hard drive on Windows 10, go to Settings > System > More Storage Settings > Optimize Drives and select the drive you wish to optimize. After completing these steps, your drive should be organized to enhance the overall performance of your system.
Optimize battery life by changing display settings
One of the simplest ways to extend the battery life of your system is to tweak its display settings. A lot of people are unaware of this easy and quick way to make sure a single charge lasts longer. Your PC’s display uses the most battery, so adjusting its settings can play a huge role on battery life.  
Shorten sleep timers
Shorter sleep timers will turn your screen off faster when not in use, hence conserving battery. To set a timer or shorten it, go to Settings > System > Power & Sleep > PC goes to sleep after and choose the shortest time range available.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your PC’s battery life should witness a little increase.

Enable dark theme
The dark color mode not only helps with eye strain but also battery life. In order to switch to dark theme to extend your device’s battery, go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your color and choose the Dark option.
Turn the Transparency effects toggle switch off as well. Once you’re done, most of the elements on your desktop will turn dark and your battery life will be considerably optimized.
Switch to a dark background
A dark background works the same way the dark theme does in terms of conserving battery life. To apply a dark background, go to Settings > Personalization > Background > Solid color and select a dark color such as black or gray. After completing these steps, your background should be a dark shade and your battery life should see a difference.  
Protect your PC against viruses and hackers
Protecting your system against external threats is one of the most important things to do when tuning it. You have to make sure the data on your PC is safe against both malware and hackers. There’s always the option of installing third-party apps that can do the job but Windows 10 features a built-in Windows Security app that includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Defender Firewall. Both of these features combined provide sufficient protection against viruses and hackers.
Scan your PC for viruses

It is recommended to perform a full virus scan with Microsoft Defender Antivirus every now and then. While the program is always at work looking for any malware, spyware, ransomware, or viruses to combat, you should run a scan to be safe.
To perform a full malware scan on your PC, go to Start > Windows Security  > Virus & threat protection > Current threats > Scan options  > Full scan  > Scan now. Once done, Microsoft Defender Antivirus woill have gotten rid of anything suspicious on your device.
Activate Windows Firewall
It is always recommended to also turn the Microsoft Defender Firewall on to add an extra layer of security in protecting your laptop against unwanted access. Chances are it will already be turned on by default, but it is recommended to check if it is and enable it in case it isn’t. Go to Start > Windows Security  > Firewall & network protection > Restore settings. Once you’re finished with these steps, the firewall will make sure your PC is safe from network threats.
Set up a printer

Knowing the steps on how to connect either a wireless or a USB printer to your Windows 10 laptop is something that will always come in handy.
Wireless printer
In order to connect a wireless printer to your device, you have to first make sure it is connected to the internet and then go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners > Add a printer or scanner. Then select a printer from the list and click on Add device and Windows 10 will manage the necessary drivers accordingly to set your wireless printer up.
USB printer
You also have to make sure your computer has an active internet connection whe connecting a USB printer. Once this is done, then go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners and connect the printer to the laptop using a USB cable. Once you do so, Windows 10 will look for the printer and automatically install its drivers.
Upgrades
This guide is focused on helping you tune your laptop using the tools and settings available on Windows 10. However, if you have a relatively old laptop, you may need to upgrade some of the components, such as the traditional hard drive to a solid-state drive (SSD), to improve the system performance.
We compiled this guide for you to learn about quick and easy ways to enhance the performance of your PC. We can’t guarantee your device is going to run at full efficiency after following these steps, especially if it’s relatively old. However, its performance and battery life can definitely see a little improvement free of cost.

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